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Welcome to VBT - Writers on the Move August tour. It’s my pleasure to host the youngest member of our group, Heather Paye. At only 15-years-old, Heather is a published author. It’s refreshing to see a young lady with great determination and confidence.

Lets start with a synopsis of Heather’s book, A Gift from Above.

Celia Meyers gets everything that she wants, but when she requests a sibling and gets it, it's not all that she expected at all. Her parents ignore her, threaten to send her to a "summer camp" and the worst possible things happen to her all of the time. Finally she can't take it anymore, so she confides in her best friend Tommy Hanson, about searching for her long lost nanny Milicent Potter. But when she finds Millie, she learns some disturbing facts that she's not quite sure what to do with.

Celia visits with Tommy and discovers his true feelings towards her. At the ending Celia becomes somewhat of a hero as she saves a young boy in a car accident.

The book starts out when she is 8 and progresses through her life until she is 16.

And now for a wonderful review:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GIFT FROM ABOVE BY H. C. PAYE, April 19, 2009
By Joyce l. Paclik (bellevilleil)

IN READING THIS BOOK IT WAS VERY INTERESTING. IT WAS HARD TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN WITHOUT PROCEEDING FURTHER. I FOUND THIS READING MATERIAL VERY CLOSE TO THE HEART READING. IT IS A BOOK I WOULD RECOMMEND FOR ALL THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THIS YOUNG WRITER I FEEL WILL GO VERY FAR IN WRITING MORE BOOKS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

You can get your copy of A Gift From Above at:

CreateSpace

Amazon Kindle

Amazon

And, you can learn more about Heather at:
http://heatherpaye.blogspot.com

Please be sure to stop back here on Monday, August 3rd, for an interview with Heather Paye.

Also, don't forget to stop by the other members' sites and leave a comment. You could be the lucky winner of the Mystery Site Give-away!

If you're an author and want to learn more about VBT - Writers on the Move, please contact me at: [email protected].

Talk to you soon,
Karen Cioffi

The 10th of each month, one of our members hosts the Viewpoint segment. This month the host is children's book, Angeline Jellybean, author Crystalee Calderwood and the topic is about authors who self-publish and those who are published with small presses. What is their role in the promotion of their books?

Here is my comment on Crystalee's site:

As a self-published author I can attest to the stigma still attached to this avenue of publishing. I belonged to one writing group and a member actually said self-publishers were cheap and their books were not good enough for the traditional route. This was said generically, she had never seen my book. I was surprised at this rigid view. I do think self-publishers have much more of a stigma attached to their work than small press authors.

While I can understand that there are some authors who self-publish poorly written and unedited work, there are many who use the proper tools to turn out a decent, and sometimes, great book.

But to the question, I think authors need to take charge of their success. That means promotion, promotion, promotion in whatever avenues they can come up with.

I think local and independent book stores should welcome book signings by all authors (after they've reviewed the book and feel it is acceptable). It's a win-win situation, the bookstores have activity and the prospect of sales and the authors have an opportunity to sell. What does the book store have to lose?

As far as schools go, I think if an author approaches their local schools and starts by offering presentations for free, it could work out well. I haven't taken that route yet, having MS limits what commitments I can make. But, I'm thinking that in the fall I may give it a try in pre-schools since my book is a bedtime picture book.

Check out Cryatalee's Viewpoint at: http://crystaleecalderwood.blogspot.com

Be sure to leave a comment!

See you in blog world,
Karen Cioffi

I’m back with Part 3 of How to Improve Your Website. I know this was suppose to be posted a week or so ago, but we’ve been implementing new and improved strategies at VBT – Writers on the Move and time just slipped away.

Since your ultimate goal is to sell your product or service I’ll start with the Call to Action. Every page of your website should have a call to action with ‘buy now’ buttons. And, when it comes to ‘buy now’ buttons, classy beats flashy every time. These buttons should be at the top and left of your pages since readers usually start reading there. Remember, you don’t have to hit your readers over the head; you need to draw them in by providing valuable information, something they need or want. You can also draw in readers by providing freebees, possibly an ebook. And, don’t forget, good action colors are red, orange and yellow.

Another aspect of your site is imagery. I know in the first post of this series I mentioned the importance of creating a desired affect, well the use of 3D imagery should be included. In the myriad of research and studies that are done, it’s been determined that a 3D image is more effective for selling than flat imagery. To see if there was any validity to this determination, I did my own test. I have been promoting my book with a flat image, but after learning about this new information I took a picture of my book with it standing up and open. Well, this new data is correct; the 3D image is much more appealing than the flat image. So, when able use 3D imagery.

Now that you’ve improved your site, how do you bring traffic to it? One marketing strategy is viral marketing. Viral marketing is an internet term taken from the old ‘word of mouth’ strategy. With the computer age, the ‘word of mouth’ term needed to take on a global quality and be more descriptive of the results it can afford, thus viral marketing.

So, how does viral marketing work. This is very simple: I have a product or offer a service that others need or want. I write informative articles on the topic and offer freebees – this peaks my readers’ interest. They think it’s worthwhile and tell their friends via the internet. Their friends tell their friends and so on and so forth. Allowing reprint permission on my articles and including an Email a Friend button on my posts this information can spread like wild fire! With the click of a button my articles can travel the world. This is what makes viral marketing so effective.

An excellent example of viral marketing in action is Penny Sansevieri’s articles. I’m a huge fan of Penny’s marketing articles. She is the creator of Author Marketing Experts. When I read one of Penny’s articles I usually find it so informative I want to pass it on to the readers on my sites. This is viral marketing. By allowing reprint permission Penny not only reaches me, she reaches my readers and their readers (if they chose to reprint it also). This ultimately leads visitors seeking the kind of information Penny is providing back to her site. So, she’s not just getting visitors, she’s getting visitors who are interested in her products and services.

This type of viral marketing is just one of many. Other forms of viral marketing can be video clips, flash games, ebooks and so on. The amount of marketing information available seems to be unending. The time needed to read it all seems to be unending also. I’ll periodically provide posts sorting some of this information out.

Se1e you in blog world,
Karen Cioffi

On Tuesday, April 14th, I'll post Part 3 of How to Improve Your Websites. It will include Call to Action, 3D Imagery and Viral Marketing.Don't forget to drop by.

Karen Cioffi

Welcome back, Pamela.

It was so nice to visit with you on Sunday. We learned a little about you and The Troll, The Trunk & The Compass. Now we’d like to learn a little more.

What other books do you have coming soon?

I am nearly finished with the sequel to “The Troll Door, The Trunk & The Compass”. The title is not set in stone, but may be: “The Dragon Egg, The Trunk & The Magic Carpet”. This book starts right where the first book ends. I am still using my imagination in the sequel to make it exciting for children and adults alike.

What can readers expect when they read your books?

My books are filled with good family values, happy family relationships, and exciting magical experiences. I have had extremely positive feedback from kids from age 8 to 80.

Can you describe the time you realized you were indeed a “real” writer?

When the publisher sent me a contract, I realized that I was actually going to be published. I was so excited!!!

What are your future goals for your writing?

I would like to write at least four books in my current series. I would really like to get my books into Scholastic.

What types of books most inspire you? Why?

I have always read to my children, even when they were old enough to read to themselves. My two youngest and I all got hooked on the Harry Potter series. I like books that stretch the imagination and make your mind open up to imagine the impossible as believable.

How long have you been writing? How did you get started?

I’ve only been writing for three years. I started writing a story just for fun using my grandchildren’s personalities for the characters in my story. The story just kept getting longer. I kept coming up with more ideas. So I started calling it a book. I did not intend to get it published. But I met a published author & his wife. They encouraged me to submit my book. It has been a lot of fun. I am nearly finished writing the sequel. I plan to write at least four books in this series.

It’s great to get to know you better, Pamela. Thanks for coming back today and sharing with us.

To learn more about Pamela Devor and to order her wonderful children’s book you can visit her at:

http://www.PamelaDevor.com

http://pamdevor.blogspot.com


Thanks for visiting our blog, please leave a comment and be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you’ll get updated tips and advice on writing, self-publishing, marketing, promotion and more.

See you in blog world,
Karen

Today, Karen Cioffi was the guest on Book Bites for Kids. She talked about her new book, Day’s End Lullaby. Listen to the recorded show by clicking on the blogtalkradio player in the right sidebar of this page.

Karen also gave information for a new group she started for anyone interested in virtual book tours. To join the group, go HERE.